Have you ever watched the show Brothers & Sisters? If you have then you will know a character called Kevin Walker; the lawyer in the family, and he's gay. In the beginning it was a little rough for him, having to deal with his work, family and relationships. More recently however, he met with one of his old buddies and eventually they got married. But of course, i don't intend to tell you the story of the show and/or Kevin. Now i stayed up late cuz i had wanted to digest the food i ate a while ago and i turned on the TV to help kill the time. Brothers & Sisters is one of my favourite drama serials and Kevin is without a doubt, my favourite character. It was the episode that he was supposed to get married. I was so eager as the scenes passed and they got closer to the wedding, it would be the first gay marriage i have ever seen. Then just as the scene came, it got cut and they moved onto the post-wedding scene. My heart just sank in disappointment and i started to ask myself, what happened? "Oh of course, they censored it!"
You get what i'm saying don't you? The MDA (Media Development Authority) has a policy/law against showing homosexual content over the media (even if its not sexual); no broadcast should in any way, justify or glamourize, gay lifestyle. It makes me feel a little bit sad. It almost seems as though it was meant to be hidden from the world, that all gay people should live in secret. It is, of course, not true and many countries around the world are openly accepting its gay population. Now i respect the laws of the MDA, they filter out inappropriate material that shouldn't be broadcasted on national TV. But it comes to question; is gay marriage, inappropriate?
But a little reality check. Singapore is a country that does not criminalise homosexuality - unlike some countries which do. For that i am very thankful. For those of you who have been following the news this past 2 days you would have probably heard about this AWARE thingy going on, where sensitive topics were discussed openly in public, including homosexuality. It just goes to prove that the country is (even if its doing so slowly) opening up to the gay community and I myself have been noticing that alot more gay people are out in the open these days; whether it may be on the media, or even on the streets. Now it is thoughts like these, that make me smile, that make my day.
I am sure in the future years to come homosexuals will be widely accepted not only in this country but also in the world. It is a cause our gay ancestors have been fighting long and hard for and i'm sure they would be proud to see it materialising slowly today. Perhaps schools will start educating the young about homosexuals and this will in turn lead to them being accepted as an integral part of society. Which in turn will lead to less gay-jokes > social classification > isolation > discrimination. A chain effect. Perhaps Singapore would even be a country to legalise same-sex marriage! - HOPE! What a world that would be. On that day, i will be proud to stand up and say "HEY WORLD, I'M GAY!!"
Times are changing and so is the world. We gotta keep up and adapt. I am very hopeful, however, that despite the global warming and economic recessions, that the world is indeed becoming a better place - a world of harmonious co-existence and equality.
Good day!
No comments:
Post a Comment